Donald Trump has been eager for legal justification to weaken protests against his administration, which have only escalated with a surge of federal law enforcement and National Guard troops into Democratic-cities.
Trump has labeled “Antifa” a “domestic terrorist organization,” sparking warnings from First Amendment experts and civil rights groups that the president is using the label as a broad cudgel against left-wing opposition — and suggesting any dissent is inherently illegitimate and criminal.
Ahead of another wave of nationwide protests, administration officials and Republican members of Congress are already accusing protesters of being paid to be there by shadowy groups, blaming demonstrations that haven’t happened yet on Antifa and the “terrorist wing” of the Democratic party, and suggesting it’s a conspiracy to block an end to the government shutdown.
In June, millions of Americans turned out for “No Kings” protests in more than 2,000 cities and towns across the country, backed by a coalition of dozens of civil rights and good government groups, none of which are tied to a loose network of militant antifascists. Those protests were held the same day Trump celebrated his birthday with a military parade in Washington, D.C., which the administration claims drew 250,000 supporters.
The coalition is reuniting for more No Kings demonstrations on October 18 — which the Trump administration and its allies are now labeling “Hate America” rallies. This time, U.S. troops under Trump’s command will be standing by.
“This is part of Antifa, paid protesters, it begs the question who’s funding it?” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo Monday.
“Democrats want to wait for a big rally of a No Kings protest when the bottom line is, ‘who’s running the show in the Senate?” he added. “Chuck Schumer’s not running the show. The No Kings protesters or organizers are running the show.”
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News last week that Democrats are refusing to end a government shutdown because “they can’t face their rabid base,” an idea floated by several congressional Republicans and right-wing media personalities.
“We’re so angry about it. I’m a very patient guy, but I have had it with these people. They’re playing games with real people’s lives,” he told Fox News last week.
“The theory we have right now: They have a ‘Hate America’ rally that’s scheduled for October 18 on the National Mall,” he added. “It’s all the pro-Hamas wing and the Antifa people, they’re all coming out. Some of the House Democrats are selling T-shirts for the event. It’s being told to us that they won’t be able to reopen the government until after that rally, because they can’t face their rabid base. This is serious business hurting real people.… I’m beyond words.”
No Kings organizers shot back, saying Johnson is “running out of excuses for keeping the government shut down.”
“Instead of reopening the government, preserving affordable healthcare, or lowering costs for working families, he’s attacking millions of Americans who are peacefully coming together to say that America belongs to its people, not to kings,” the group said in a statement.
No Kings events are pledging nonviolent demonstrations, and all organizers are trained to de-escalate and work with local partners to ensure events go off without incident, according to the group.
June’s protests were largely peaceful with few arrests nationwide. Most rallies diminished by the afternoon.
Nonetheless, Republican members of Congress are incensed by the idea.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer told reporters last week that the event is being championed by what he called “the terrorist wing” of the Democratic Party.
“We call it the ‘Hate America’ rally because you’ll see the hate for America all over this thing when they show up,” he told Bartiromo. “The rumor is that [Democrats] can’t end this shutdown because this small but very violent and vocal group is the only one that’s happy about this.”
Republican Senator Roger Marshall baselessly accused protesters of being paid by George Soros, a right-wing boogeyman whose Open Society Foundations is under investigation by the Department of Justice as part of a White House-directed political retribution campaign.
“This will be a Soros paid-for protest for his professional protesters,” he told Newsmax last week. “The agitators show up. We’ll have to get the National Guard out. Hopefully it will be peaceful. I doubt it.”
Last week, the president suggested his administration could designate Antifa as a foreign terrorist organization as top officials compared the decentralized movement to Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamic state.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem labeled the movement “just as dangerous” as designated terrorist groups and drug cartels.
“They are just as sophisticated as MS-13, as [Tren de Aragua], as Isis, as Hezbollah, as Hamas, as all of them. They are just as dangerous,” Noem said. “They have an agenda to destroy us, just like the other terrorists we’ve dealt with for many, many years.”
There is no “domestic terrorist organization” designation under U.S. law, and “Antifa” is not a specific organization but a term that encompasses a wider ideologically driven movement against fascism. It’s not clear what legal weight, if any, the order will have.
But federal law allows for international groups to be labeled foreign terrorist organizations as a means of imposing financial sanctions, travel restrictions and other penalties.
Critics have warned that the Trump administration defining who, or what, is Antifa – and therefore a “terrorist” on par with the ISIS — could dangerously escalate the president’s war against his political enemies, including Americans who march in protests that the government has labeled an “Antifa” event.
The president also issued a national security directive last month ordering federal law enforcement agencies to “dismantle” groups accused of supporting acts of domestic terror “before” they’re committed, pointing to “anti-Christian,” “anti-capitalism” or “anti-American” views as identifiable markers.
“Fighting crime is more than just getting the bad guy off the streets,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said last week. “It’s breaking down the organization brick by brick. Just like we did with cartels, we’re going to take this same approach, President Trump, with Antifa: Destroy the entire organization from top to bottom.”
